Stock-car



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L. R. STILES.-

' STOCK OAR. N 0. Z96,245. Patented Apr. 1, 1884.

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L. R. STILES.

STOCK GAR.

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woooooeanv zoo WITNESSES ATTORNEY be desired to turn the car into a single com 7 UNITED STATES LUTHER It. STILES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' STOCK-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,245, dated April 1, 1884. application filed January 24, 1884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER R. STILES, of' Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain Improvements in Stock- Cars, of which the following is a specification.

In my application for Letters Patent for an improvement in stock-cars filed on the 24th day of Xovember, 1883, I have shown and de scribed a second deck or floor for a stockcar, which is composed of sections so hinged to the walls of the car as to fold down against the walls and be out of the way whenever it may I partment, instead of two; but the hinges are stationary,and have to be so far above the first floor that space will be left for the sections to fold down against the walls without touching the first floor. Now, inasmuch as the first floor of cars of thisclass is likely to become covered to the depth of three inches or more with the waste food and excrements of the animals transported in them, which is liable to freeze hard in cold weather, it is expedient that the free edges of the sections when folded down shall not reach the first floor by, say, four or more inches; but as the height of such cars now in use is not to exceed seven feet, (and is generally less,) whilethe width is eight feet or more, the raising of the hinges up, say, four inches higher,in order to allow the sections whichhave half the width ofthecar to fold down against the walls and leave the space of four inches between their lower edges and the permanent floor would bring the second deck much too near the roof. N ow, to obviate these difiiculties, and to secure certain other advantages hereinafter described, is the object of my present improvement,which may not only be applied to such cars as may be hereafter constructed with special reference to its use, but also as well to those now in actual use.

My present improvement will be hereinafter fully described with reference'to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a stock-car provided with the same. Fig. 2 is across central vertical section of the same, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,and 8 detail views of certain parts; Fig. 9, a horizontal section of the car made just above the second deck when in position for use, showing a top or plan view of the deck itself; and

portion of the second deck is composed of four equal and similar sections, A, and the residue thereof of two end sections, each of which is composed of two equal sub-sections, B and B, hinged together, as shown in Fig. 2, and the end edges of subsections B and B are provided on their under sides with metal plates C, and all the sections A are provided with like plates under both their side and end edges, to afiord them sufficient strength and stiffness. The end sections composed of sub-sections B and B are hinged to'the side walls of the car, near the ends thereof, by means of tubes G, securely fastened to the outer ends of sub-sections B, and through these tubes are inserted the rods 9, the outer ends of which are furnished with bearings upon and are fastened to the side bars of the walls of the car, as shown at Fig. 6, at a sufficient distance from the end wallsto allow sub-sections B to fold down under and against sub-sections B, so that both may swing down upon rods 9 against the end walls and occupy the position shown in Fig. I.

My object in making the end sections in two parts hinged together, is to enable me to extend them farther toward each other, so that the main sections A may be made so much shorter that they can be handled better, and be hung, if need be, against the end walls as well as the side walls, or otherwise disposed of when the car may be turned into a single compartment, for, as before stated, such cars are usually eight or more feet wide, and generally they are about twentymine feet long. Now, if the hinged end sections shall extend seven feet each from the end walls, then the middle sections, A, must be long enough for two of them in line on each side to cover the space of, say, fifteen feet between the end sections, and each one of the sections will be less than eight feet long, which number of feet is theusual width of a stock-car, and can therefore be turned and placed against the end walls, if I the car on their outer sides,and on their indesired. The plates 0 which are fastened under the inner edges of sections A and B and B should be wider than those used elsewhere, so that their inner edges shall be bent up at a right angle, and be so bent up in order to make the edges of the sections stronger, and to require less support from above or below, as shown in Figs. 2 and 11. The side bars of the car upon which the rods 9 have their bearings should be re-enforced by blocks, as shown in Fig. 6, extending from one vertical stud to another.

Under the sections A are fastened a series of rectangular hooks, d, by which the sections when not in use may be hung upon the side bars of the walls at any height desired from the permanent floor. The side bars upon which the outer edges of sections A are supported when in use should be armed with iron bars H, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Each of the sections A upon its outer edge is provided with a series of bars, D, projecting downward when in use, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and these bars pass down on the outer sides of the side bars and prevent the walls of the car from spreading, and hold said sections in place and strengthen the car.

In order to sustain the inner edges of all the sections when in position and constituting a second deck, I provide the metal plates 0 in their under sides with series of sockets 6, arranged to correspond with the pins 0, projecting upward from the plates on the several posts E, (shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 8,) and also a single socket for each post in proper position on the first floor, and when these several posts are placed in the positions designed for them, respectively, they will not only sustain all the sections, but hold them against yielding in any direction and strengthen the car generally.

When the roof of the car is sufficiently strong to sustain the second deck and its load, the same may be done by a series of chains suspended from the roof, and provided with hooks upon their lower ends to engage with staples or eyebolts, F, fixed in the sections, as shown in Fig. 2. The chain to sustain the inner corners of sections A should have a branch chain to hold each corner by its eyebolt or staple F. Each of the sections A must have a projection, b, from its outer edge sufficiently long to extend out flush with the outer faces of the walls, and wide enough to fill onehalf of a doorway to correspond with the first ner sides by posts or chains, or both, substantially as described.

2. The detachable sections A, provided each with a series of rectangular hooks, d, adapting it to be suspended upon the side bars of the car and out of the way when not in use, substantially as described.

7 3. The detachable sections A, each provided with a series of bars, D, as a means of attachment to the walls of the car when in use, and of holding the walls thereof against spreading, substantially as described.

4. The described end sections, composed of sub-sections B and B, hinged together, and the whole hinged to the side walls by means of the hinge composed of the tube G, fastened to the sub-section B, and the rod 9, having its bearings in the side walls of the car, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The supporting-post E, provided with a suitable platform or cap, E, on its top, and containing a suitable number and arrangement of pins, e, adapted, when socketed upon the first floor, to support adjacent edges and corners of sections A and B B, and hold them against yielding in any direction, and adding strength to the car itself, substantially as described.

6. The described hinges for the end sections, composed of the tube G and the rod resting on the side bars of the car, adapted to hold the posts sufficiently distant from the end wall, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The described end sections, composed of sub-sections B and B, hinged together, and also hinged to the side walls of the car in such av manner as to leave space for sub-section B to fold upon sub-section B, and both together to fold against the end wall out of the way, substantially as shown and described.

8. The four equal and like sections A, having each a projection, b, sufficiently long to extend out to the outer face of the side walls of the car, and wide enough to fill one-half the doorway, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, substantially as described.

9. The plate G, bent into the form of an angle-iron fastened to the inner edges of all the sections and acting as a girder, and serving to render few supports necessary, substantially as described.

10. The sections A, provided with staples or eyebolts F upon their inner corners or edges, in combination with chains suspended from the roof, and provided with hooks at their lower ends, as and for the purpose described.

L. R. STILES.

Witnesses:

B. F. HARRIOTT, CHAS. H. WALKER. 

